Country-pop starlet Taylor Swift's record label was forced to release the first single from her upcoming album 12 days ahead of schedule on Wednesday, hours after a bootleg version appeared online.

Big Machine Records said in a statement that the MP3 file of "Mine" was "low-quality," and it wanted fans to hear the single in its proper form via iTunes and country radio. It was not immediately known who was responsible for the leak.

Swift's third album, "Speak Now," remains on course for a worldwide release on October 25. It marks the follow-up to her album of the year Grammy winner "Fearless," which has sold 5.95 million copies in the United States and currently sits at No. 45 on the pop album chart in its 90th week.